Do you know this man, seen here shaking hands with P Chidambaran, India's finance minister? Keep an eye on him, for he may have a role in your life without you having the faintest knowledge of it. He is Praful Patel, Regional Vice President of the World Bank – in essence, the satrap of Southasia. While the various regional governments may lend an ear to the Europeans or the Scandinavians or the Japanese, it is actually the World Bank (as well as its slightly poorer cousin, the Asian Development Bank) to which all finance ministers from Colombo to Dhaka to Kathmandu look to for the big money. And besides foisting the Washington Consensus on all recipients, the World Bank is also known to elbow other, more 'politically correct' lenders to create some space. Overbearing, if you will – though Mr Patel seems a nice enough guy in the photograph. He wants to expand loan assistance to India from the current annual average of USD 2.5 billion to USD 4 billon over the next three years. He currently doles out around USD 3.8 billion annually to all of Southasia.
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Mohammad Yunus Dada! As with a lot of bhodrolok and commoners alike, Chhetria Patrakar frets for thee. You had wanted the Nobel for long, and you got it. Southasia is proud. Now you want to use this space in the limelight – not just the Nobel, but your own luminous presence – to help make things right in a country where politics has become a bad word. Hosannahs for daring to take the plunge. In your open letter to the Bangladeshi public you wrote, "I know that joining politics is to become controversial. I am ready to take the risk." In Calcutta, you told reporters that you are keen "to create a new brand of politics".